Dumb? But what was the end result of the USAID Cuba-Twitter scheme? Here:

USAID saw evidence from server records that Havana had tried to trace the texts, to break into ZunZuneo’s servers, and had occasionally blocked messages. But USAid called the response “timid.”

Even though Cuba has one of the most sophisticated counter-intelligence operations in the world, the ZunZuneo team thought that as long as the message service looked benign, Cubacel would leave it alone….The operation had run into an unsolvable problem. USAid was paying tens of thousands of dollars in text messaging fees to Cuba’s communist telecommunications monopoly routed through a secret bank account and front companies. It was not a situation that it could either afford or justify — and if exposed it would be embarrassing, or worse.”

In brief, the U.S. taxpayer contributes tens of thousands (probably more) to Castro’s Cubacel while funding the twittering of thousands of selfies and cat pictures among Cuban “new men” and women. (Well…maybe not so many cat pics, since we hear most of Cuba’s cats mysteriously vanished during the last “Special Period.”)

So again: “Dumb?”

And oh…Might even more U.S. taxpayer money be entering Castro regime coffers (or defraying their costs) via USAID funding of all those “courageous and oppressed dissidents?”– who seem to afford more international airline travel (with regime permission?–or regime blessing?) than the wildest vacation dreams of the Soccer-Moms and Joe-Sixpacks who (involuntarily) foot their bills?…Is this why Cuba (usually much shrewder and brutal in such matters and with the best counter-intelligence on earth) hasn’t followed in the footsteps of Russia, Bolivia, Ecuador, etc. and booted USAID? Is it why they appear so “timid? with USAID? Heck, maybe its a cash cow for them?!

Folks, were talking about an intelligence community that relied on An Belen Montes bosom colleague Fulton Armstrong as “National Intelligence Officer for Latin America” ( the U.S. Intelligence Community’s most senior analyst) from 2000-2004!

Le RRRRONCA!!!

(UPDATE: The WaPo’s Cuba “expert” Adam Taylor recently removed the phrase: “and made Cuba look dumb,” from his article. The change apparently came shortly after his original wording was quoted in this Babalu post. This poster upholds the orignal quote, and–yes–implies that Taylor changed it because it made HIM look dumb.)

Well, Taylor may not have a Cuban wife, but he’s probably met some Cuban/s at some point, which of course is good enough to qualify as a Cuba expert. The requirements are not exactly stringent, though they’re not quite as lax as those to become POTUS.